Traveling-excavator-frame structure.



L. MAYER.

TRAVELING EXGAVATORA FRAME STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1908.

Patented Mar. 23, 1909.

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LOUIS MAYER, OF MANKATO, MINNESOTA.

TRAVELING-EXCAVATOR-FRAME STRUCTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 12, 1908.

Patented March 23, 1909.

Serial No. 420,579.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS hIAYER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mankato, in the county of Blue Earth and State of Minnesota,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTraveling-Excavator-Frame Structures; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to excavating apparatus of the general characterdisclosed and claimed in my prior U. S. Patent No. 835,029, SerialNumber 304,678, issued of date November 6th, 1906. In an excavatingapparatus of this character, the entire machine is supported by foursmall trucks applied to the ends of long transverse beams that arearranged to span the ditch or excavated channel, and the said wheels ofthe said trucks are arranged to run on temporary tracks usually formedin sections placed upon the ground. These sectional tracks necessarilyare more or less irregular,

and vary considerable in respect to hori-' zontal positions, so thatwhen a rigid frame structure is employed, such frame will be verygreatly strained. and distorted as the several trucks run over theirregular tracks.

My invention has for its especial object to provide a frame structurethat will not be strained by the trucks running over irregular tracks,and to this end I pivotally connect at least one of the long transverseditch spanning beams to the main frame of the excavating machine so thatthe pivoted beam may oscillate vertically and allow the several trucksto freely adapt themselves to all irregularities in the tracks.

In the accompanyin drawings, which illustrate my invention, Iikecharacters indicate like parts through the several views.

Referring to these drawings; Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation,showing the frame and truck structure of an excavating machine embodyingmy invention, some parts being broken away. Fig. 2 is a diagrammaticrear elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryplan View showing the rear portion of the machine frame or platformstructure, and the rear transverse ditch-spanning beam pivotallyconnected thereto.

1 In Fig. 2, the numeral 1 indicates a ditch l which is assumed to havebeen dug by the l excavating apparatus, and in Figs. 1 and 2 the numeral2 indicates sections of the track upon which the excavator su portingtrucks are made to run, the said trac '5: being shown as made of amultiplicity of planks suitably secured together. Of the parts of the excavating apparatus, the numeral 3 indicates the platform structure, andthe numerals 4 and 5, respectively the front and rear transverse ditch sanning beams. The front beam 4 is rigid y secured at its intermediateportion to the platform structure 3, while the rear beam 5 is pivotallyconnected at 6 to the rear end of the said platform structure. Thenumerals 7 and 8 indicate, respectively, the frames and wheels of thefour supporting trucks, two ofwhich are applied to the ends of the frontbeam 4, and two of which are applied to the ends of the pivoted rearbeam 5, and the wheels of which, of course, run upon the tracks 2.

As is evident, with the construction described, the two beams 4 and 5are free to vary their positions in respect to a horizontal, so that thetwo pairs of trucks may inde endently and freely adapt themselves to alirregularities in the tracks upon which they run.

This device, while extremely simple, and While adding little or nothingto the cost of the excavating apparatus, has, nevertheless, been foundto be of very great importance in this class of machines.

What I claim is In an excavating apparatus, the combination with aplatform structure, of a pair of transversely extended ditch-spanningbeams, one of which is rigidly secured thereto, and the other of whichis intermediately pivoted thereto, and wheeled trucks each com risingseveral Wheels and a truck frame app ied to the ends of the said twobeams, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS M AYER.

Witnesses:

H. D. KILGORE, M. E. RoNnY.

